The Process
You got this far - so you must be thinking that you could use a day of planner! I can honestly tell you that every wedding day I have done, my assistant and I are always moving. Between setting up personal decor, keeping to the timeline, checking in vendors, coordinating transportation, handling problems that pop up, and so much more, we are busy! You do not want to be dealing with all that on your day, and you don't want to stick family members or bridal party with these tasks. You also don't want your photographer or DJ/Band dealing with any of this because then they can't do their job to the best ability. This means less time for photos when your photographer has to hunt down family members etc. Allow us the opportunity to explain our process and why hiring a day of planner is truly necessary to be fully present and worry free on your day.
Prior to Booking:
You will always be directly communicating with me, Lizzie - the owner and lead planner. When you reach out for a quote or consultation, we will hop on the phone for a quick chat for me to gather a few key details about your day, and for you to get the chance to feel if I'm the right fit for you. Then I'll email you a quote. If you decide to move forward with me, then you sign my contract and give a 50% deposit.
Immediately after Booking:
I send you referrals for any vendors you might still need to hire and answer any of your big looming questions. You will also receive my Wedding Planning Guide, Budget Template Spreadsheet, Invitation/RSVP Tracking Spreadsheet, and Seating Chart Template. Then you continue planning your wedding until the month before arrives with once a month check-ins with me!
Month Prior to Wedding:
I reach out to you about 5 weeks prior to your wedding. We have a meeting or call to discuss all the ins and outs of your day. Following that call, I create a document I call a wedding manifest that lists every detail about your special day (processional/recessional order, timeline, vendor contact sheet, etc.). I also create a final to do list of any items still left to be done. I handle anything that I can for you. I will reach out to your vendors and venue to confirm all details. This is really when we find things that were possibly missed in the planning process so we take care of them before they would have become problems on a wedding day, for example: does your dj/band provide sound system and microphone for ceremony.
Day Before:
I arrive 30 minutes prior to your rehearsal to help gather family members and friends, and to grab any decor/personal items from you that will be used for your wedding day. I run the rehearsal - placing your bridal party where they need to stand, show them how to hold their hands/bouquets, practice walking out and in, and then giving all my tips and tricks. Finally, we discuss when and where to meet for the next day's events. Then you are off to your rehearsal dinner!
Day of:
My wedding day assistant and I will arrive at a pre-determined time to begin all our wedding day duties. You can refer to our Packages Page to see a break down of what we take care of. Although that list is pretty long, it would be impossible to list everything we handle as each wedding day is different and there are many many things we take care of. We stay through the end of the evening to clean up all personal decor and other items and coordinate any special exits. We are there to make sure you are fully present in your day. When you hire us, your mom or maid of honor won't have to be away from you handling set up or checking if the florist brought all the boutonnieres. We are here to serve you - from going to get your flip flops when you are over your heels, to tossing your dress and veil in the air for just the right photo, to blowing up inflatable guitars to hand out at just the right moment during the choregraphed first dance. We got you.
We will do whatever it takes to make your wedding day go smoothly.
Here are some examples of how
we enacted that statement at real weddings:
At one wedding, we went to set up the place cards, which the bride had left at the venue for the venue coordinator to check that the meals noted on each card matched the final count. Well those cards never got looked through by the venue, and when we went to set them up, we realized the printing company had printed only Tables 1, 2, 5, 10 three times so it appeared there were the right amount of place cards. We jumped into action - in my emergency kit, I carry place card templates. I also always make sure I have a copy of the seating chart. I hopped on a venue computer and typed up all 160 place cards, got them printed out and set up before the ceremony started.
Another wedding, the couple ordered a vegan, gluten free cake (which doesn't have the same strong consistency of usual cake). Unfortunately, even though we kept it in a cold room, it started to faint. We quickly snapped into action and grabbed wooden skewers from our kit and stabilized the cake. We brought our couple in the room early to snap photos of the cake cutting. We then took the top layer to display on the cake table. Some times things just don't go as planned, but instead of having a cake on the floor, we were able to get photos with the couple and have cake to serve to the guests.
We had a beach wedding and the venue coordinator promised the couple that the beach chairs, umbrellas, and people between the ceremony site and the water would be moved prior to ceremony start time. However, that was not the case even though I confirmed it with the venue prior. Because a hour before the ceremony, I asked the coordinator when the people were going to be moved, and she said this is a public beach so I can't ask anyone to move. Well that statement had us jumping into action, I went to the company providing the umbrellas and chairs and asked if they would clean up the empty ones. I then asked beach goers who were still occupying the chairs to please move to the side (even some that were 2 feet from the ceremony arch - which the venue would not ask to move). Well after 5 minutes, the umbrella company was not lifting a finger, so my assistant and I jumped into action moving all the chairs and umbrellas to clear an empty space between the ceremony and the ocean. We were able to clear a path so that their ceremony photos wouldn't be cluttered. Check out these before and after photos.
This poor bride had to postpone her wedding due to COVID just 5 days before the big day. I helped her contact the vendors to reschedule to November. When her new date came around, there was literal hurricane coming through Florida. We had to shift the outdoor beach ceremony into inside the foyer. However, less than 30 minutes to ceremony start time, a period of sunshine came through, we got together with the couple and the mother of the bride and made the decision to move the ceremony on the beautiful terrace overlooking the beach. As the chair company and florist had already left after being set up, my assistant and I moved all the chairs, arch and floral decor. The venue coordinators could not help because of the rules of the venue not allowing them to move or touch vendor's items due to liability. We reset the entire ceremony for 150 guests in 15 minutes with just two of us, so that our couple could have their ceremony outside as they had always planned!
Another one of our couples had their grandfather make a custom PVC frame for their photo booth. The florist added tropical leaves to hide the PVC. They used this for their welcome party on the beach. The florist was then supposed to move it the next day to the reception site. Well the Florida sun sucked the life out of the tropical leaves and the florist didn't have anything to fix it. So my assistant and I stealthy snipped some tropicals from around the resort and we re-built the frame. The couple didn't even know we did - even to this day! This photo is after we fixed it - we didn't get a before photo because we were too busy trying to fix the issue!
That's just a few of the many stories we have. I ask you to imagine what would have happen if they didn't have a day of coordinator like us. These problems would turn into big problems that your family, bridal party, or you would have to deal with. Half of our couples don't even know about the problems that happened on the big day - that's our goal so they only remember their day as a perfect day. Many other stories include gluing shoes back together, sewing parts of wedding dresses back together, fixing the bustle when someone accidently steps on it and busts it, etc.
We come with a complete emergency kit that has everything you can imagine from zip ties to mouth wash to cake cutting tools to extra dress socks and so much more. These items mean we are prepared for anything, so that little small problems don't turn into big problems. And we keep adding to the kit - we just added a collapsible shovel. Why you ask? Well at one wedding, the rental company did not sand bag and secure the ceremony arch well on the beach. We had to dig in the sand with our hands to bury the bases to make it sturdier as the rental company refused to come back and fix it. Therefore shovel now added.
There is nothing we won't do for the success of your day!
